DO YOU KNOW NEW?

Do You Know New? ($5.95; Feb. 28, 1998; 14 pp.; 0-694-00870-2): In a simple poem in the Harper Growing Tree series, Marzollo (Home Sweet Home, 1997, etc.) introduces concepts for babies that have a long u sound, but while parents can point out a shoe or count to two, a concept such as “new” will be too abstract. A foil mirror on the last page invites children to recognize “you,” but the poor quality of the mirror results in a distorted and unrecognizable image. Despite these flaws, the book is fun to read aloud, and the illustrations are welcoming in their rounded simplicity and comforting pastel colors. (Board book. 1-3)